Spring, oh spring, how we await you! These sunny March days in Walla Walla have been spent daydreaming about warmer weather, longer days, and white wine to round it all out. Not sure about you, but our white wine stocks at home are looking pretty bare! So when we went to the library wine rack here at the winery, we were so excited to find a few cases of our 2010 REININGER Sémillon. Naturally, we popped a bottle, handed glasses to Chuck, Abbie and Brad, and tasted it. Holy cow, it’s so good! It’s amazing how much tangerine, pineapple and tropical fruit can hang on in wines over the years. Bright acidity, smooth as velvet, and uplifting enough to carry us through the last of winter.

So, in fantasizing about all the brunches that spring is bound to host, we decided to work some Sémillon into our favorite breakfast recipe of all time, eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce. Now don’t worry, this is way easier than most people think. A little prep, a couple more dishes than you're used to, and you too can poach an egg and make hollandaise. So grab some 2010 REININGER Sémillon, pop the cork, and let’s do brunch.

INGREDIENTS

Hollandaise Sauce

• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup 2010 REININGER Sémillon (or another aged dry white wine)

Poached Eggs

• 4 eggs
• splash of white vinegar or Sémillon
• water

Fixings for Assembling

• 2 English muffins
• Optional: veggies (we recommend tomato and avocado)
• Optional: breakfast meats (we recommend thick cut smoked bacon)
• Herbs to garnish (dill, chives, parsley)

Directions

Prep your fixings first by cutting any vegetables, cooking meats or chopping herbs of your choosing.

For the Sauce:

1. Assemble a double boiler. If you don't have one, you can use a glass bowl over a saucepan with two cups of water. Preferably you do not want the bowl to touch the water. Turn heat to medium and bring water to a simmer.
2. Pour white wine into the glass bowl or into the top of the double boiler and heat for 10 minutes.
3. Cut butter into 6-8 pieces and add into the wine. Stir and melt for 2-3 minutes. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to the butter and wine mixture.
   
4. Whisk 3 egg yolks vigorously into the double boiler for about 2 minutes. You do not want the eggs to scramble. Remove from heat, and whisk occasionally while the pot is still hot. If the sauce starts to separate before it's poured over your eggs, whisk again.

For the Poached Eggs

1. Heat large saucepan about 2/3 of the way full of warm water. Add white vinegar and a dash of salt, and cook at medium-high heat. Look for a slight simmer here, nothing rolling (this is our trick for shapely poached eggs).
2. Crack egg into a small bowl or ramekin.
3. Give the heated (less than simmering) water in the saucepan a stir to create a gentle whirlpool, and drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool. We recommend doing your eggs one at a time. Let the egg cook for about 5 minutes if you like a runny yolk, 6-7 minutes if you prefer your eggs a bit harder. Remove egg with slotted spoon and put in a strainer to let drain. Repeat this step until all eggs are cooked.

For Final Assembly

1. When you are starting to poach your last egg, toast your English muffins.
2. Take a tablespoon of the warm water from the poaching eggs pan and whisk into hollandaise sauce to warm it and fluff it up.
3. Put your choice of meats on English muffin, followed by your vegetables. Top with poached egg and spoon hollandaise sauce over the top. Garnish with herbs and enjoy with a glass of 2010 REININGER Sémillon.